So Much for "Smart"

It already wasn't a great day--wasn't feeling well when I got up, but I went to work because the I.T. people had asked me to test a program they wanted to move to an upgraded server. It turned out that one of the I.T. people was out, and she was the one who had to turn off some e-mail notifications for the test (otherwise we get irate calls from management/lease people about fake deals). Add one slacker co-worker who was getting on my last nerve, and I was ready to go home. So I bailed around lunchtime, got stuck in construction traffic on my way to the post office to mail a Half.com sale (business is surprising brisk but darn it cost me $8 to ship a hardback priority to CA), ran into someone who knew my dad and asked why I wasn't singing at the other church site anymore (just when I'd stopped feeling guilty about not doing it anymore), and finally made it home. Ate lunch and conked out on the sofa.I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep until the cat woke me up with a loud demand at 4:30 for dinner. At which point I realized I'd planned to stop to get more cat food on my lunch hour, had I stayed at work. So I ignored and then avoided her as I mentally prepared myself to deal with the horrible pet supply store near me. I do not understand how one location can suck so badly when the one by my work (my usual one) is fantastic.Tonight's experience convinced me that it will take a dire emergency for me to go back there ever again. Short version: their customer service is horrible. Long version: I bought about 40-some cans of cat food and two non-food items. In the middle of ringing up the cans, the cashier scanned one of the non-food items and I noticed that the price did not appear on the screen. So I said, "I don't think that scanned right." She said yes, it did. As she was dropping the cans into the bag. I asked her to please be careful with those and her response was, "What do you mean?" I said I don't want to go home with a bunch of dented cans. She said they were fine. Yeah, fine--just like my blood pressure.When I got to the car, I looked at the receipt, and sure enough, the one item wasn't there. It was a $10 item, and I briefly was tempted to just drive off. But I went back because (A) I couldn't live with myself if I let it go, and (B) I figured if stuff like this happens often enough the prices will go sky-high. So I walked back in with my bags and let the cashier know what happened.

Her response: "So, what do you want to do? Do you want to pay for it?"Oh, for the love of- No, you crazy woman, I'm just coming back in to tell you so it's officially shoplifting. (Something I haven't done since I was three but that's another story for another time.)

So I paid for the item and hauled everything back out to the car. I looked at the second receipt, and I couldn't help my wicked grin.

I had been randomly selected for a phone survey about my "experience" today.

I've never dialed "1" (for bad, terrible, would-not-recommend) so much in my life as I did after dinner.